Recently I embarked on a whirlwind 2-week road trip with my best friend Sher as well as our friend Alex who tagged along for a couple of days.  I am going to give you some insight into some of things I learned about myself along the way, but first some context of how this trip came to be….  I needed to return my all-time favourite Nissan Juke to Canada to sell it, when I was informed, I was not going to be able to import it to Mexico as it was built in Japan.  Wowsa, now I need to drive it 4300 kms to Canada AND sell it!  Sure, I had done this trip 4 years ago and initially I was a little freaked out at the thought of the logistics and was a tad stressed about having to drive alllll the way back to Canada.  Thankfully, with the support of THE logistics queen Sher and her keen expertise in all things travel and fun, what was originally a mission, turned into a fun road trip adventure! 3 countries, 7 City stops, 1 police stop and countless laughs!

Sometimes in life, things happen and it forces you to step outside the day in and day out comfort zone to realize what is truly important to you and what you might be missing out on.  Don’t get me wrong the last few years have had their challenges and gut punches, but the timing of this trip and all that I experienced came at the right time.  This trip was fun, therapeutic and gave me the time and space to really think about my life, not in a “I’ve found the meaning of life” kinda way lol, but more of a “What do I want out of my life, and How do I want to live it” kinda way. I know these 3 things about myself:  #1.  I love to help others, #2.  I am trustworthy, and #3. I am an empath, all what makes me a great Coach as well.  Over the span of this 2-week trip, I also discovered these 3 things about myself:  #1.  I don’t take care of myself, #2. Social Media sucks too much of my life, and #3. Somewhere along the way, I stopped enjoying the “moment”.   Let me break it down…  #1. I don’t take care of myself, or should I say self care? It’s literally the last thing I think of most of the time, sure the odd mani/pedi, haircut or even massage from time to time, but just like creating a weekly routine for work, this was never on it. I never saw the importance of “Me” when there were others that needed me more. #2 While we were on the road and driving, sightseeing and enjoying new experiences, I hadn’t even noticed how little time I was on social media.  Sure, I posted some snaps along the way, but I wasn’t constantly scrolling, and falling down the rabbit hole of drama on an hourly basis.  I was actually out there doing, instead of reading about it! And finally, #3, it is so easy to fall out of being in the moment, ANY moment.  It took me a few days, but I really started to literally feel a little lighter, and enjoy myself, to consciously and sometimes spontaneously BE there, wherever we were.  I needed these epiphanies to occur now more than ever!  The one BONUS all along our adventure was the experience of random acts of kindness from strangers throughout the entire trip.  In a world full of critics and negative emotions swirling out there in social media landia, this was a great reminder of all the good there is out there in the real world!

We started our trip from the winding roads and mountains of Mexico to the flat lands of Texas to the billboards lined highways to the big city lights and all the way up to the fresh air of fall in Canada, but ended our adventure in a small peaceful picturesque town in New Hampshire with friends. Wow, I cannot remember a time or place quieter than this cabin.  It was so relaxing and cold, wow no joke I literally was so cold lol, thank you Penny for our warm socks!  It was all just so easy, to get up each morning without a to do list, or errands to run, a place I could just BE and go with the flow with only the sound of laughter and wind through the trees.  It was the perfect ending to our trip, kind of a re-calibration for me, a time to re-evaluate my transition to an even better version of me.  Upon returning, I have made a conscious effort to create a new work routine, signed up for pottery classes (LOVING IT), then Pickleball lessons and although I do check social media, and create posts, I am spending my extra time working on my Coaching in my pursuit to assist more people with their transitions!  As Sher would say “its all part of the adventure” and I am going to enjoy navigating all the roads, speed bumps and detours along the way!